Latest NC inspection fiasco

HMP said:
What issue were you having an on what vehicle?
I have a slight issue with my fan - when I turn it on (the hvac) makes a 'clicking' noise from under the glove compartment. About 20 clicks and it's done.
Wondering if it's a common problem and how to fix
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It is a 2012 Ford Fusion. It's a known issue on Fusions. Ours the fan would smooth out after a few minutes at first, and then the clicking got to where it would be constant would become constant. It's a really easy job that I Youtubed to see how much they were BSing me.
 
LizardKing said:
Just curious, what do you do if someone comes in for an inspection and their windows are rolled down and won't roll up? You wouldn't be able to test for tint, but is a vehicle required to have windows in NC?
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I have had this come up a few times.
Are windows required? No
If it does have them they have to be checked. That means if I can see that the glass is still there (working or not) it has to be seen to be passed. Usually if you have gone to that trouble I know what you are up to so I won’t pass it,usually just tell you to bring it back when the windows are working.
If you want to take the time to completely remove the glass,I have no choice but to pass it.
No glass=no tint
Had a few jeep guys get cute with this and removed the doors. Only problem was the mirrors now fail.

FWIW I don’t like the tint law. I am just going by the book of regulations I have to follow.
 
BigWaylon said:
I had mine inspected for 10+ years that way. Rolled them down, disconnected the wiring harness. Never had an issue.
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BUT BUT BUT MUH SAFE-TEEEEEE OMG WHAT WILL YOU DO IF YOU CAN'T SEE OUT! OR IF WE CAN'T SEE IN!

Here's my final take: F**K the NC Safety Inspection scam. I guess the millions of people in SC, Florida and other states that have gotten rid of it are just full of unsafe Jalopies unlike NC. Or...there's the Carolina SQUAT.
 
Mike Overlay said:
Strangely, I dont recall having anyone come thru trying to game the system like that.
I personally stopped doing inspections manly due to the bs involved from both sides. Let my business partner deal with it. He pretty much goes by the book, no breaks or favors.
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You said a mouth full then. I was at the shop that inspected my service truck one time and the guy who runs the place was talking with me while I waited. He told me the woman from the state who was in charge of his district came in to inspect his operation and she told him he was putting "passed" on too many things and he need to fail some things and then show repaired so they could justify their jobs. I asked him if he told her his job didn't depend on inspections. Basically she was telling him that Raleigh needed to see a reason to keep the inspections going and too many passed vehicle would not do that.
 
You guys will probably have better luck doing away with PPP before RUDUE.
 
tarheelshooter said:
I have had this come up a few times.
Are windows required? No
If it does have them they have to be checked. That means if I can see that the glass is still there (working or not) it has to be seen to be passed. Usually if you have gone to that trouble I know what you are up to so I won’t pass it,usually just tell you to bring it back when the windows are working.
If you want to take the time to completely remove the glass,I have no choice but to pass it.
No glass=no tint
Had a few jeep guys get cute with this and removed the doors. Only problem was the mirrors now fail.

FWIW I don’t like the tint law. I am just going by the book of regulations I have to follow.
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Exactly. All about the regs. If one clearance light is required it has to be there and it has to work. If only one is required and you have a 100 on that side and one doesn't work it don't pass. At least that is the way it was when I was inspecting.
 
Schattenreiter said:
You said a mouth full then. I was at the shop that inspected my service truck one time and the guy who runs the place was talking with me while I waited. He told me the woman from the state who was in charge of his district came in to inspect his operation and she told him he was putting "passed" on too many things and he need to fail some things and then show repaired so they could justify their jobs. I asked him if he told her his job didn't depend on inspections. Basically she was telling him that Raleigh needed to see a reason to keep the inspections going and too many passed vehicle would not do that.
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:mad:
 
Schattenreiter said:
You said a mouth full then. I was at the shop that inspected my service truck one time and the guy who runs the place was talking with me while I waited. He told me the woman from the state who was in charge of his district came in to inspect his operation and she told him he was putting "passed" on too many things and he need to fail some things and then show repaired so they could justify their jobs. I asked him if he told her his job didn't depend on inspections. Basically she was telling him that Raleigh needed to see a reason to keep the inspections going and too many passed vehicle would not do that.
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Believe it, we have heard those very same words
 
SPST said:
Other than a bulb being out, I don't recall ever having anything at an inspection other than, "Sir, your car is ready". And up until last month my newest car was a 2008 with 100k on it.
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THIS ! And so having read through all the posts, whose responsibility is it to know your car will or will not pass inspection ?
Yeah, you Mr Vehicle Owner.

Either keep tabs on your cars, do stuff yourself or know your limitations. And if you don't care enough to do that, be prepared to write checks. Never fails to amaze me how many experts there are about how much something should cost or if they are being "cheated" when they have no interest in learning how to do the work themselves. Many times its folks that are quite intelligent, but declare themselves to not know how to fix a car, like they fence that off in their brains as something they could Never Do. Cause, dirty and stuff.

I have experience inspecting cars myself from ages ago when it was actually a Real Inspection, but if I'm dealing with an unknown state inspection station I feel might be hungry, I throw them a bone ( again knowing that everything on the vehicle is perfect and would pass...) Ya know, my wipers are a bit streaky- ya got anything that'll fit ? Makes them less eager to recommend a new fart filter or speaker cleaning or whatever the latest profit scam might be.
 
Never had a problem with tint until last year, inspector got busted. "Our tint meter is broken so we can't inspect it." Whatever, pulled the front two off, got it inspected and windows were back 5% within 48 hours. Can't deal with glare from the sun in my peripheral vision (triggers migraines) and I hate wearing sun glasses while driving. I'd tint the windshield if I thought I could get away with it.

I was told at one point they were looking at doing away with inspections but some automotive lobbying group talked the state into keeping them. How true, idk.
 
hp468 said:
Never had a problem with tint until last year, inspector got busted. "Our tint meter is broken so we can't inspect it." Whatever, pulled the front two off, got it inspected and windows were back 5% within 48 hours. Can't deal with glare from the sun in my peripheral vision (triggers migraines) and I hate wearing sun glasses while driving. I'd tint the windshield if I thought I could get away with it.

I was told at one point they were looking at doing away with inspections but some automotive lobbying group talked the state into keeping them. How true, idk.
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Windshield tint is legal As well as getting a letter from your eye dr. Can then get a permit for darker tint.
 
It's only legal down to the little mark on the side (approx 5" down or so from the top).

I tried to look into the whole Dr note deal years ago when my migraines started, from I read it wasn't as simple as that and the note wouldn't give you a get out of jail free card for illegal tint. Something could have changed, it's been years since I looked into it.
 
hp468 said:
It's only legal down to the little mark on the side (approx 5" down or so from the top).

I tried to look into the whole Dr note deal years ago when my migraines started, from I read it wasn't as simple as that and the note wouldn't give you a get out of jail free card for illegal tint. Something could have changed, it's been years since I looked into it.
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My whole windshield is tinted Legal And the letter is taken to dmv and get a small sticker that goes under the tiny on the drivers window.


That's how I did mine in 2012
 
I just learned today that any vehicle older than 20 years doesn’t need an omissions inspection anymore. Doesn’t matter what county you’re in.

used to only buy junk that was 95 and older because of the OBD1 thing.

my life is changed forever ( and will now have more junk in it)
 
Mine are still 3 years off from 20 years old. Guess I'll need to tune up my parking brake and check all my misc. non-essential bulbs next time I go to the scam agent. Don't mind the tits on the tires, brand new brakes and you know, other safety stuff. Look hard at the one thing that isn't used on 90% of the automatic transmission cars out there.
 
mj1angier said:
But did you not agree to the price before the work was done?

Hooker going to charge for a hour even if you get off in 10 mins.... you agreed to price of a service, service was give to satisfactory result, just because the tech was good does not mean price should go down, in fact maybe go up because you did not have to wait longer.
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'10 minutes":D:D:D
 
hp468 said:
It's only legal down to the little mark on the side (approx 5" down or so from the top).

I tried to look into the whole Dr note deal years ago when my migraines started, from I read it wasn't as simple as that and the note wouldn't give you a get out of jail free card for illegal tint. Something could have changed, it's been years since I looked into it.
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My wife wanted dark tint so she got it. Unfortunately it's my job to get the auto inspection and registration. Kind of a pain but one shop is good and won't look too hard. Then they were visited by some state agency. No more...

This past year that car failed because of the tint. I told her if she wants to keep the tint she needs to get a Dr. to say she needs it. (Tirigium in eyes and skin melenoma) She got the paper and sent it into the registry. Got the authorization in 4 days that needs to be renewed every 5 years.

Keep that slip with the car on inspections and you'll have zero issues.
 
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I have my entire windshield tinted 35% with a 5% strip up top, 20% on the front doors, factory tint on the back doors, and 5% over the factory tint on the back window and have had it that way for going on 5 years. Never been pulled. Only thing that sucks about it is finding someone every year who will look the other way..
 
Gear Head said:
I have my entire windshield tinted 35% with a 5% strip up top, 20% on the front doors, factory tint on the back doors, and 5% over the factory tint on the back window and have had it that way for going on 5 years. Never been pulled. Only thing that sucks about it is finding someone every year who will look the other way..
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I’d never thought about it, but when I had mine retinted last year the shop mentioned that factory tinting doesn’t offer any heat reflection. So you could put a layer of any quality film (doesn’t need to be dark) on the back doors and cool it down a little.
 
Gear Head said:
I have my entire windshield tinted 35% with a 5% strip up top, 20% on the front doors, factory tint on the back doors, and 5% over the factory tint on the back window and have had it that way for going on 5 years. Never been pulled. Only thing that sucks about it is finding someone every year who will look the other way..
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How do you see out of them at night?
 
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